A Pleasant Diversion
by MuckyShroom
Summary: Chibs is about to get a blast from his past.
1. Chapter 1

_**All characters, etc from Sons of Anarchy belong to Kurt Sutter. **_

_**The OC's are mine.**_

_**Any mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out but please be nice**_

_**In the absence of any better evidence, this is the timeline I've come up with. Please accept my apologies if I got it wrong.**_

**CHAPTER 1:**

Cat loved driving the convertible. She couldn't have told anyone what make or model it was if they'd asked. When she'd found the rental desk in the airport she had only specified that she wanted something with a roof that came down and that she could plug her MP3 player into.

Guns 'n' Roses was streaming through the speakers. Her baseball cap was pulled firmly down to keep it in place against the force of the wind which resulted from driving with the roof down. The mirrored aviators kept the bright sunlight from blinding her large, brown, almond-shaped eyes. Her long, chocolate brown ponytail, pulled through the band at the back of the cap, was whipping around and getting knotted all to hell. Cat smiled broadly to herself, this was fun, she should have done this years ago.

She revelled in the feeling of freedom. There was barely any other traffic on the road, which suited her down to the ground. She still wasn't used to driving on the wrong side of the road. The landscape here was open for miles, gently rolling dry and dusty ground that led up to mountain ranges far in the distance. It was an immense feeling of space.

She passed the sign reading "Welcome to Charming" and the butterflies set up camp in her stomach again. It would be embarrassing if he didn't even remember her. It was more than likely that he wouldn't recognise her. He hadn't seen her since she was fifteen.


	2. Chapter 2

_**All characters, etc from Sons of Anarchy belong to Kurt Sutter. **_

_**The OC's are mine.**_

_**Any mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out but please be nice**_

_**In the absence of any better evidence, this is the timeline I've come up with. Please accept my apologies if I got it wrong.**_

**CHAPTER 2:**

He sat at the head of the empty table and looked around the dim room. He ran his hand over the smooth wood, worn by forty years of hands doing the same thing. His heart was heavy, who knew how much longer the club had left. Given the people they were dealing with, he wasn't convinced there'd be another forty years. Business had been going smoothly whist the boys were inside. Good thing really, they were short on numbers with six of them in jail. They'd been gone about five months now. They should be out a couple of months after Christmas, if they behaved. He sighed, shaking his head; it'd probably be more like summer before they made it back to the clubhouse.

He pulled himself out of the chair and went to find some sunlight and fresh air.

-o0o-

Cat had turned her music down when she reached the town. She pulled the silver car into the lot of the Teller-Morrow garage and parked. She pulled her sunglasses and cap off and was just running her fingers through her tangled ponytail, when she spotted a woman walking across the tarmac. She didn't look like a customer. Her walk screamed "I own this place." She was maybe in her late forties, with long brown hair flecked with much lighter streaks. She was dressed in a black shirt, open at the neck, jeans and boots that did not look like they were made for walking long distances in.

"Excuse me." Cat shouted scrambling out of the car. The woman turned to fix her with a haughty look. "I'm looking for Chibs Telford. Is he here?"

Gemma Teller-Morrow looked the woman up and down. She looked to be late twenties or early thirties, in jeans and t-shirt, with a car that was dusty from having been driven a long way. She was English, by her accent. What did someone from England want with Chibs?

-o0o-

Chibs had just opened the door to the clubhouse when he heard the voice. He recognised it instantly. No wonder, he'd listened to it for hours once upon a time. He looked over and saw the woman who'd called out to Gemma walking over to her.

"Cat?" He shouted.

Cat looked over the woman's shoulder and saw him coming out of a door to the building. "Chibs!" She changed direction and ran over to him.

He hesitated when she reached him, he remember that she didn't appreciate sudden contact, but she nodded slightly so he stepped forward and threw his arms around her, lifting her feet off the floor with the hug.

"Cat? Are ye shittin' me? What're ye doin' here?"

"Nice way to say hello there Chibs." She laughed.

He set her down and held her at arms length, looking her up and down. "Ye've grown lass."

"People usually do. It's been a long time, I wasn't sure you'd remember me."

"Don't be daft lass. I'd no' forget ye in a hurry."

She traced a finger over one of his scars, he let her without flinching. "I told you they'd fade." She murmured.

He looked over Cat's shoulder and saw Gemma saunter over with a very inquisitive look on her face.

He stepped forward, leaving his arm round Cat's waist. "Cat, this is Gemma. This place belongs to her and her old man. Gemma, this is Cat, from England."

"I could tell." She said archly. He knew Gemma was suspicious by nature anyway, but anyone coming from overseas looking for him was going to get rough treatment.

"Come on inside, I'll explain over a beer."

He pulled open the door he'd just come through and ushered Cat into the club house, directing her to a sit at one of the tables dotted around. Piney was sat at the bar with a whisky. He looked up when the door opened again and raised an eyebrow when he saw Chibs showing a strange woman into the clubhouse, closely followed by Gemma.

Gemma sat down in a seat next to Cat and didn't take her eyes off her for one moment. This woman was nothing like the girls they usually cam across. She wasn't exactly fresh faced, but she didn't look like she'd ever been touched by their world. She didn't look tired enough. How in the hell had she gotten to know Chibs?

"Hey Piney." Chibs moved behind the bar to get the drinks. "This is Cat. From England. From way back."

"Heya." Piney huffed in a voice gruff from years of smoking. He turned and leaned one arm on the bar so he could watch the show.

Chibs took the beers back to the table and handed them around. "So sweetheart, what brings ye tae California?"

Cat took a grateful swallow of the beer to wash down some of the road dust. "Holiday. I decided to fly to San Francisco, get a car and just drive. See where I ended up. I remembered you saying you were coming to Charming. I thought I'd drop by, see if you were still here."

"Ye here with anyone lass?"

"No." She laughed at the look on his face. "I'm not fifteen anymore."

"Ye've no idea lass." He shook his head wondering how anyone would realise what a dangerous place Charming could be.

He looked at her, head titled. "Ye never marry child?"

She looked sad for a moment and older somehow. "Yeah, it didn't work out. Getting away from everything was part of the reason for coming away so far."

Gemma leaned back with her beer. "So kids. How do you two know each other?"

Chibs and Cat looked at each other, then at Gemma. "Well," Chibs began. "Are ye sittin' comfortably?"


	3. Chapter 3

_**All characters, etc from Sons of Anarchy belong to Kurt Sutter. **_

_**The OC's are mine.**_

_**Any mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out but please be nice**_

_**In the absence of any better evidence, this is the timeline I've come up with. Please accept my apologies if I got it wrong.**_

**CHAPTER 3:**

He heard the front door open.

"Hi mum, I'm hoooome."

"Cat, just a sec, don't go upstairs." Her mother was calling from the kitchen which was on the floor below the front door. The house was built into a slope, over three levels. Kitchen, garage and back door at the bottom; front door, bathroom, living room and a bedroom in the middle, two bedrooms upstairs.

"What?"

"Don't go upstairs." The sound of her mother coming up the stairs and into the hallway that led to the front door.

"Why would I be going upstairs? My room's here. And why can't I go upstairs?"

"Just sit down a sec Cat." He heard the muffled thump of her school bag as it hit the floor. She hadn't thrown it down, just let it drop. Both of them got settled on the stairs. He knew her mother was doing this deliberately so he'd know what she'd said.

"We've got a visitor for a few weeks. No, wait while I tell you. You remember Uncle Danny in Ireland, your dad's friend from university, sends you a card on your birthday?"

"Yeah." Her young voice was suspicious.

"Well he's asked us to lend him a hand. A friend of his was mugged in Ireland. He was beaten up quite badly. He has no family to look after him in Ireland and he was about to leave to go and live in America anyway. Uncle Danny asked if we could help out, if we could look after him until he's OK to go to the US."

"Why us? And if he's so badly hurt how did he get here from Ireland?"

"Uncle Danny brought him. He knows its quiet here; his friend can get better in peace. We're not so far from Ireland, and the airport's close when he'd ready to leave."

Silence.

"I still don't get it, but OK, whatever." He could hear the shrug in her voice.

"Good. Thank you. Now come on." Her mother got up. "I'll introduce you." Pause. "Cat. I don't want you to be scared, but they cut his face. It's…."

"Mum, just take me to meet the strange man living in our house. I will try not to run screaming. OK?" Pause. "He's still got all the bits on his face, right? Nose 'n' stuff?"

"Yes he's still got all the bits. It's not as bad as all that." For the first time since he'd looked in a mirror after it happened, he found himself being thankful his injuries were only what they were.

Steps as they climbed the stairs to the room he was in, it was across the landing from her mother's room. He had been stood gazing out of the window across the valley to the moors beyond. He turned to face the door and braced himself.

Alison opened the door for her daughter. The teenager just stood there in the doorway staring. She hadn't fainted, she hadn't screamed and she hadn't run off. She'd paled a little and her deep brown eyes had widened before she'd caught herself. Now she stood there, silent, and just looked at him. She was dressed in her school uniform, her long, brunette hair parted in the centre and hanging loose around her shoulders. When her mother was sure that the girl wasn't going to faint or scream she introduced them.

"Cat, this is Mr Telford." She turned to him. "Filip, this is my daughter, Mark's daughter, Catherine, but everyone calls her Cat."

He'd noticed the way she'd flinched when her mother had said her father's name.

"Hi." Her voice came out quiet, but clear. He didn't blame her for being shocked; he knew what he looked like. He thought she was handling it pretty well all things considered. He waved his hello, but winced when it hurt his cracked ribs. The wince made his face hurt. He couldn't say hello to her. Jimmy had cut the sides of his mouth, had given him "The Smile". His cheeks had been stitched back together, but he couldn't open his mouth more than millimetres without extreme pain. The stitches and blood made his cheeks feel like they'd been set in concrete.

-o0o-

He should have been horrifying, but it didn't bother her. It wasn't that she'd seen worse. Not at all, she had never encountered violence in her life. It just didn't bother her all that much. He seemed surprised that she hadn't shown any shock when she'd seen him.

They'd given him a "Glasgow Smile." She'd heard of it in books and films and stuff, but here it was stood in front of her. One of his eyes was still puffy and the skin was ugly shades of green and yellow. It must have been swollen shut when the bruise had been fresh. There was cut under the eyebrow on the other eye. She supposed it was from being punched in the face, it looked like the cuts Rocky always got three rounds into the fight in the films. He'd winced as he'd tried to wave, he'd probably got cracked ribs, if they'd been broken he wouldn't have tried to raise his arm.

He looked to be younger then her mum; probably in his thirties, about the same age as most of her teachers at school. He was tall, but he wasn't lanky. His hair was a mid brown and tied in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He was wearing her father's clothes, the ones her mum had boxed up and put in the loft.

"Come on Cat. Let's go downstairs and leave Mr Telford in peace. I'll brew up." Alison turned to him. "I'll bring you a brew up Filip." He nodded; it was all he could do.


	4. Chapter 4

_**All characters, etc from Sons of Anarchy belong to Kurt Sutter. **_

_**The OC's are mine.**_

_**Any mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out but please be nice**_

_**In the absence of any better evidence, this is the timeline I've come up with. Please accept my apologies if I got it wrong.**_

**CHAPTER 4:**

He'd watched Alison leave in the car from the window. She had come upstairs to let him know that she was going to the supermarket. She'd asked if there was anything he wanted before she realised he couldn't answer. She had blushed when she'd realised her error. He'd shaken his head and she'd left the room still blushing.

He was staying up here in his room for now. He didn't want to frighten Cat

He heard a timid knock at the door. There was a pause before she opened it slightly and peered round.

"Sorry, for barging in."

He shrugged to let her know it was OK.

"Mum was really embarrassed about before. She's sorry. I thought these would help." She came into the room, dressed in loose-fitting jeans with a silver buckled belt at her waist, a fitted t-shirt and an unfastened, checked, flannel men's shirt. She held out a pad of lined A4 paper and a couple of black biros. "You can write down what you want to say."

He nearly smiled, but the pain stopped him. He stepped forward and took the pad and the pens from her. He sat down on the bed and opened the pad. He drew a smiley face and wrote –Thanks- before turning the pad round to show her.

"No problem. Would you like a brew?"

-Yes please-

"How'd you take it?"

-Milk. Two sugars. Your mum brings a straw.-

"Yeah, I've seen it. I'll be right back." She smiled and left. Five minutes later she was back with two steaming mugs and a straw. He hadn't moved.

"Here we go." She put one of the mugs on the nightstand next to the bed. She looked around, still holding her mug of tea. "You must be really bored. There's nowt to do in here."

-I like the view-

"It is pretty wicked. You should see it when it snows." She wandered over to the window and looked out.

-How old are you?-

"Fifteen. I'm in the fourth year at school. I've got my GCSE's next year. Mum's already nagging about revision." She sighed.

-Aren't you scared of me?- He thought twice before he turned the pad round. He wasn't sure he wanted the answer.

She shrugged. "You're not an axe murderer right? You're hurt. I don't think you're going to try and jump me or anything. I've never met Uncle Danny so it doesn't mean much to me that you know him, but if Mum thinks it's OK for you to be here then you must be alright."

-Are those the Pennines I can see out of the window?-

She glanced back out of the window. "Sort of. We're on the edge of the Pennines here. That hill facing us is Alphin. There's a legend that there were two giants, Alphin and Alderman. Alderman is over there." She pointed out of the window, to the left. "They both fell in love with the same woman, a nymph called Rimmon. They had a fight, chucked boulders at each other. You can see some of the boulders on the slopes from here. Alphin died in the fight and was buried in that hill. Rimmon threw herself to her death from that ridge over there, where Dovestones Reservoir is."

He walked over to join her out of the window so he could see what she was pointing out to him. She took a step away when he got close.

"Sorry." Another shrug.

He went back for the pad. – I won't hurt you.-

"No offence, but it's just a bit ….. weird." She looked out of the window again before turning back. "I don't mean that you're weird. It's just, it's been just me and mum for years now. It's weird having you in the house." She paused searching for a way to explain. "I'm not used to a man being here."

-Your mum doesn't have a fella?-

"No, thank God! The idea of mum going on dates is creepy." She shuddered. "Don't forget your brew." She gave him a small smile and left him to his tea and the window.


	5. Chapter 5

_**All characters, etc from Sons of Anarchy belong to Kurt Sutter. **_

_**The OC's are mine.**_

_**Any mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out but please be nice**_

_**In the absence of any better evidence, this is the timeline I've come up with. Please accept my apologies if I got it wrong.**_

**CHAPTER 5:**

The next day she knocked on his door again. Not as timidly this time. She paused again before poking her head into the room.

"Hey, is it OK for me to come in?"

He nodded. She came in with her arms full.

"You must be bored out of your skull up here. I found this in my room." She juggled a small plug-in radio off the top of the pile she was carrying and put it on the desk that was against the wall just inside the door. "I've brought these as well. We've got loads of books downstairs. I didn't know what you'd like so I brought a few different ones up." She managed to get the pile of books onto the desk without dropping them. He got up and slowly walked over to the desk, giving her time to move away. He looked through the volumes that she'd brought, some James Herbert horrors, Bernard Cornwell military fiction, Treasure Island and an ancient copy of Ivanhoe that was ready to fall apart.

"Yeah, that's battered. My dad used to read it to me when… I was younger. It's a good story if you've not read it."

He reached for the pad and the pen.

-How old were you?-

"How do you know? Oh, yeah, Uncle Danny'll've told you. I was nine when Dad died."

-You miss him-

She wrapped her arms around herself, hugging herself. It made him feel old to watch her. She was so young, innocent and naive. He thought about the fifteen year olds he knew in Belfast. This girl was a baby compared to them.

"I s'pose. It's getting harder to remember him." She looked down at the floor as if ashamed of what she was saying.

-Normal. You were only young.-

"Yeah, I s'pose." A shrug.

She turned to leave; he stopped her with a hand on her arm. She nearly jumped out of her skin. He held up the copy of Ivanhoe and then put it down so he could write on the pad.

-Read it to me?-

Suspicion was written all over her face.

-Please. Lonely. - He could get used to this pad; it was easier to write down some things than it was to say them.

The suspicion was gone in an instant. "OK, if you want. I'll brew up first." She was about to disappear out of the room when she turned. "Of course if I'm going to stay and read to you it really should be my set texts for English, but I don't think you want me reading Henry the Fifth do you?"

He shook his head. She disappeared and was back a short while later with the mugs of tea and his straw. He raised his eyebrows when he saw it was a fluorescent pink curly one.

"What?" She exclaimed in mock innocence, hardly containing her giggle. She looked about herself for a moment. He sat down on the bed, leaning his back against the headboard which was just underneath the window, stretching his legs out in front of him. She put his drink on the nightstand next to him with the ridiculous straw. She put her own mug on the carpet at the other end of the bed. She grabbed the book and settled herself sitting crosswise from him on the bed, leaning her back against the wall that the bed was set against. He pulled up his knees to make room for her.

"In that pleasant district of merry England which is watered by the river Don, there extended in ancient times a large forest…."


	6. Chapter 6

_**All characters, etc from Sons of Anarchy belong to Kurt Sutter. **_

_**The OC's are mine.**_

_**Any mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out but please be nice**_

_**In the absence of any better evidence, this is the timeline I've come up with. Please accept my apologies if I got it wrong.**_

**CHAPTER 6:**

They fell into a routine. When she arrived home from school she changed out of her uniform, then brought two mugs of tea up to his room and read to him until her mother called her down to eat. Alison brought his meals up to him. He was living on soup and porridge at the moment. She'd offered to blend the meals that they had to a liquid, but he didn't like the thought of that and he couldn't afford to vomit, so he had politely declined. He didn't feel comfortable eating his different meals with them, especially with the way he struggled to get the food into his mouth. It took forever.

After she'd eaten, Cat would do her homework, before returning to his room with more tea to read until ten pm when her mum insisted she go to bed. He'd asked why she wasn't out with her friends more. She had explained that she didn't hang around in the park with the kids from the local school. Her mum would have had a fit. All her friends from the school she went to lived right on the other side of the town, almost in Manchester itself. It was too far to go after school, but sometimes she went to see them on weekends and stayed over. He suspected that sometimes when she came home on the Sundays she was hung over, but she never seemed to be hurt or upset so he let it go. Who was he to lecture about a little underage drinking?

Her visits were a welcome relief from the silence of the house during the day. It was quiet as the grave with Cat at school and Alison at work. He'd tried watching daytime TV, but it irritated him, and there were only four channels to choose from. He tried reading himself, but it tended to make him sleepy. Sometimes he listened to the radio she'd brought him.

He spent most of his time gazing out of the window, watching people walking along the towpath on the opposite side of the canal that bordered the garden. He watched the way the sunlight could twist the moors' patchwork of sludgy greens and browns into vibrant emeralds, amethysts and golds. Sometimes he stared at the road which snaked up the right hand side of the hill before disappearing around it about half way up. He watched the cars and wondered about the lives of the people driving them. He thought about his wife and his daughter. They were safe in a manner of speaking. He hoped that Fiona was keeping her temper in check. He thought a lot about his young daughter, Kerrianne. She had only been a year old when he left, just starting to toddle around and not even speaking yet. He'd never hear her call him "Da."

Eventually the time had come to have the stitches in his cheeks taken out. He was nervous of using his mouth at all when they'd been removed, scared that the wounds would split open. He took it slowly, speaking little and staying on a diet of liquid or soft foods. The scars were tight and stiff, it was still difficult to move his mouth properly. He started eating at the table in the kitchen with them. Alison made sure to cook meals that he could enjoy without having to take large mouthfuls.

When Cat had come up to his room after school on the day he'd gotten rid of the stitches she'd found him staring at the angry, red lines on either side of his mouth in the mirror.

"They'll get better with time." She'd said gently.

"Aye, they're a pretty set o' chibs." He'd responded running his finger gently along one.

"Huh, don't know why, but it never occurred to me you'd have an accent like that." At his look she'd shrugged, "It doesn't come across on paper. Anyway. Chibs? What's that mean?"

"Chibs? It means scars in Scotland."

"Sounds like a good nickname to me." She'd grinned at his disbelief. "Well, you don't really like being called Filip, and you refuse to answer me when I call you Mr Telford. So, Chibs it is!"

The nickname had grown on him.


	7. Chapter 7

_**All characters, etc from Sons of Anarchy belong to Kurt Sutter. **_

_**The OC's are mine.**_

_**Any mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out but please be nice**_

_**In the absence of any better evidence, this is the timeline I've come up with. Please accept my apologies if I got it wrong.**_

**CHAPTER 7:**

Cat still read to him, he enjoyed her company. After Ivanhoe, they'd read Treasure Island. They were now reading Dracula.

"What happened to yer Da?" They were settling on his bed, preparing to start the next chapter.

She stopped in the middle of getting comfortable with her back against the wall. "I thought Uncle Danny told you?"

"He only told me yer Da was gone. He dinnae give me any details."

"He had a heart attack. No reason. He was fit, healthy, played squash. Then just one day….gone."

"Were ye there when it happened?"

"No, I was at school. He'd stayed off work. He wasn't feeling well. Mum didn't work then, she was here when it happened. When school finished, my friend Dawn's mum said mum had called and said I could go round to their house for tea and to sleep over. She had a bag off stuff for me. Mum didn't tell me until after school the next day. I s'pose she had to get herself together."

She had spoken without anger or rancour. He didn't ask her any more questions about it. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What really happened to you?"

"Yer ma told ye what happened."

"What Mum told me was a load of bollocks." He was taken aback by her bluntness.

"Aye." He sighed. "Put the book down, looks like I'm tellin' the story taenight."

He told her about his life. He'd been born in Glasgow. When he was five his Da got a better job, in Ireland, so the whole family had moved. Unfortunately his Da met another woman through this new job and left, abandoning his wife and son in a strange country. He left school with few qualifications. There weren't many options for unqualified, honest work; the shipyards were dying. He'd kicked around for a bit before joining the British army. Not being from Ireland originally he only had his natural Scottish antipathy to the English.

He'd trained as a medic before being sent on his first tour. Being the 1980's, his first tour was in Northern Ireland. He'd been amazed at the racism some of his fellow squaddies showed towards the Irish. He'd never been on the receiving end of it. His accent had always retained some of its original Scottish element and had never truly marked him out as Irish, and whenever anyone asked where he was from he always answered "Glasgow", since that was his birthplace. One night his patrol had come across two lads out for a couple of beers. Some words were exchanged, and the other members of his patrol had beaten the boys to a bloody pulp. He'd been sickened by their animalistic behaviour and had reported them. That had been a mistake. The next thing he knew he was facing a court martial for something he hadn't done and was dishonourably discharged. He wasn't even twenty yet.

On his return home he found that rumours of his attempt for justice had preceded him. He was courted by the True IRA, a friend of a friend of a friend; Jimmy O'Phelan persuaded him to join their cause. He also managed to fall in with SAMBEL, the Irish branch of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club. The original core of the club, SAMCRO, was based in California, that's where he was headed once he was ready.

He'd met his wife a couple of years after he'd been kicked out of the army. They'd had a good life. He'd been thrilled when Fiona found he was pregnant and been blown away when his little girl Kerrianne had been born. He'd adored being a Da, adored everything about it from the night feeds to the stinky nappies. Then things had started going wrong. Jimmy had always had a thing about Fiona, and he couldn't stand to see the little family so happy. Eventually it had boiled over and exploded in an attack that had left scars for life. Jimmy had thrown him out of the True IRA, taken his wife and his daughter for his own and made it clear he was to leave and never return. His brothers in SAMBEL were handling the arrangements for him to go to the US. Her Uncle Danny wasn't attached to either group; he was simply an old friend who had come up with an idea for somewhere quiet that he could recuperate without fear of anyone from the True IRA tracking him down.

Cat sat in silence when he finished.

"Mum never said you had a wife and a baby girl." She said quietly.

"I'm no' sure your ma even knows. I doona know how much Danny told her."

Cat was silent for a while longer.

"You know, Mum was s'posed to be in Manchester the day of the bomb. She was going shopping with a friend. The washing machine broke and flooded the kitchen so she didn't go. If she had….." Cat tailed off.

Chibs had never felt like apologising for anything in his life before, but he did now. He'd known exactly what the True IRA did, but it was a different thing to be faced with this facet of it. It was the Provisional IRA that had planted that particular bomb, as part of their campaign to draw the attention of the British public to their cause. No one had died but more than two hundred people had been injured on that busy Saturday afternoon only a year ago. He wondered if she'd leave now. She seemed to be thinking about it.

Cat wondered what she was doing sat companionably with a self-confessed terrorist. The attacks in Warrington four years ago had sickened England, two children had died. Well, he was also a self-confessed ex-terrorist. How bad could he be if he had a wife and a baby that he loved so much? She couldn't honestly say he'd become like a father to her. He was simply Chibs. It was almost as if he hadn't existed before he'd turned up in the spare room. He was…hers.

She picked up the book.

"When I found that I was a prisoner a sort of wild feeling came over me."


	8. Chapter 8

_**All characters, etc from Sons of Anarchy belong to Kurt Sutter. **_

_**The OC's are mine.**_

_**Any mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out but please be nice**_

_**In the absence of any better evidence, this is the timeline I've come up with. Please accept my apologies if I got it wrong.**_

**CHAPTER 8:**

"What are you waiting on to go to America?" She asked as she set the mug of tea down.

"Tryin' to kick me out lass?" He chuckled.

"No, just curious. I've no idea how being a fugitive from a terrorist organisation works." She said with a grin.

He laughed. "I'm waitin' on the lads from SAMBEL tae sort out some papers fer me. I'll be stayin' over there for good. I donna want Emigration after me fer the rest o' me life."

"Hmmmm. Bet that's above board and legal." She said with plenty of sarcasm.

He laughed again. "No' likely darlin'."

"So, what're you planning to do with yourself 'til then? Keeping in the house all day isn't healthy."

"Aye. I know." He ran a hand through his hair. "I need tae get me strength back 'fore I go. It'll be a new crew. I cannae go in weak."

"Good luck with that; there isn't a gym anywhere near here."

He got up and stared blankly out of the window. "I doona fancy that. Folks starin'…"

Cat crossed her arms and leant against the desk. "True, you don't get a lot of Glasgow Smiles round here. It being Lancashire an' all. What about a long walk up a big hill? It's cold out. You can wear a scarf over your face if you're that bothered."

"Up that hill?" He nodded at the one in front of the window.

"You've been housebound for months, let's start with something a little smaller. That one." She pushed away from the desk and walked over to the window to point out a ridge half way across the valley from the larger peak. It had some sort of monument on it.

"What's that on the hill?"

"A war memorial. It's called Pots 'n' Pans 'cause the stones have big hollows worn into them, like…well they're nowt like pots and pans, it's a daft name." She shrugged.

"Aye, alright then."

And so it began. It got dark too early in an evening to do more than walk around the village, but at weekends she showed him how to get to the paths up the hills that surrounded the house so that he could go himself during the day. The wind on the heights was bitter and bracing. The rabbits and sheep were usually the only other living things in sight, and they ignored him and carried on grazing. Sometimes he met other hikers, but he just nodded and kept the scarf wrapped tightly around his face. On the top of the moors the grass was long and flecked with wild cotton where it was untouched. The colours were a swirling mix of bronzes and greens, cut with black banks of peat and peppered with massive grey boulders. The long grass shimmered like rippling water when the wind gusted over it. The landscape was bleak, which fit his mood most days. The middle reaches of the rolling peaks were carpeted with deep green winberry and rich purple heather bushes which gave way to ash, oak, sycamore and beech at the bottom of the valley which was sliced by a river and the canal.

Coming home from school one day Cat let herself in and called as usual. "Hi, I'm hooome." Receiving no answer she went into the living room and found a note from her mum, she'd gone out on an errand but would be home later in time for tea. It was then that she heard the soft "whumph, whumph," coming from the floor below. She dumped her school bag in her room and went to investigate. There was no one in the kitchen, so she opened the door into the garage quietly, not sure what she would find. She opened it wider when she realised there wasn't any danger. Chibs had managed to get a punch bag from somewhere and had hung it from the garage ceiling. The soft thumping noises were the sound of his wrapped fists connecting with the bag.

"Aren't you s'posed to wear gloves to do that?"

"Jesus lass!" He stumbled back. "Are ye tryin' tae end me?"

"Sorry." Cat said, not sounding very sorry at all. "But aren't you? S'posed to wear gloves 'n' stuff?"

"Folks doona stop to put on gloves in a fight darlin'." He said gently.

She crossed her arms. "I wouldn't know. I don't go round picking fights with folk."

"That's a good thing lass."

She put her head on one side, considering something. "Would you teach me?"

"Teach ye what?"

"That, how to box, throw a punch, whatever." She gestured vaguely at the bag.

"Your Ma'd skin me alive lass if she found out."

"I'm not planning on telling her."

"Why'd ye want tae learn such a thing anyways."

"Would it be such a bad thing for me to know how to punch?"

"Somethin' wrong at school lass?" He was surprised at the surge of anger he felt that anyone might be trying to hurt her.

"No. Look, don't worry about it; I'll leave you to get on." She turned to go.

"Alright, I'll show ye. But I mean it, ye Ma'll have me hide if she finds out."

"No problem. The summer holidays start next week. You could teach me when Mum's at work." Not wanting to push her luck Cat smiled brightly. "Don't bother about it now though. I'm going to get changed and get tea on ready for when Mum comes home." Chibs watched her leave the garage feeling like maybe he'd been conned.


	9. Chapter 9

_**All characters, etc from Sons of Anarchy belong to Kurt Sutter. **_

_**The OC's are mine.**_

_**Any mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out but please be nice**_

_**In the absence of any better evidence, this is the timeline I've come up with. Please accept my apologies if I got it wrong.**_

**CHAPTER 9:**

"Yer Ma told ye then." Chibs asked sitting down next to Cat where she was perched on one of two concrete flags that had been laid on the canal bank at the end of the garden. She was staring into the slow-moving water, black in the fading light of dusk, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Yeah." Was the quiet reply.

"Ye knew it was comin' lass. Ye always knew I'd be leavin'."

She didn't look up. "Doesn't mean I won't miss you."

They sat side by side in silence as the evening wore on and the darkness gathered. He walked her back to the house with his arm round her shoulders.

-o0o-

Cat finally got to meet her Uncle Danny, her father's friend from university who had landed his first job in Ireland and stayed there. He came to the airport with them to see Chibs off.

Chibs clasped hands with Danny and hugged Alison. He offered his thanks to both of them both, for getting him out of Ireland and for looking after him. He paused a moment, silently asking permission, before he wrapped his arms around Cat, pulling her into a hug.

"I'll miss ye lass. Take care o' yeself." He whispered quietly at her ear.

Cat didn't trust her voice to speak; she just hugged him tighter before she had to let him go. She was determined not to cry in front of him.

Cat had been holding her breath as Chibs passed through the security check, but she obviously needn't have worried. The passport that had his photo but not his name inside barely received a glance from the bored woman in the navy blue uniform.

The three of them waved goodbye to Chibs as he walked off further into the airport. Cat turned around and noticed that Uncle Danny's arm was wrapped around her mother's waist. Suddenly she felt hollow. She wished Chibs hadn't had to go.


	10. Chapter 10

_**All characters, etc from Sons of Anarchy belong to Kurt Sutter. **_

_**The OC's are mine.**_

_**Any mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out but please be nice**_

**CHAPTER 10:**

"So there ye go then." Chibs said leaning back in the chair. "Ye knew most o' it."

Gemma put her empty bottle down on the table. She looked over at Cat, all traces of hostility and suspicion gone. If she'd taken care of Chibs then she was one of the family. "You got someplace to stay tonight sweetheart?"

"No." Cat shook her head. "I hadn't quite thought that far ahead."

Chibs looked at Gemma. "She can stay here."

Gemma didn't disagree but she did ask: "Which room do you suggest Chibs? There's probably still a couple of crow eaters in Tig's."

"Happy's'll be alright. That lad's OCD's just no' right."

Piney grunted from the bar. "It's nothin' t'do with me if he finds out."

Gemma pulled herself out of the chair. "Ditto, if he asks I'm gonna plead the Fifth." She rolled her shoulders to ease the knots from having been sat in the wooden chair for a long time. "I gotta go, I've got Abel tonight. Tara's on call but hopefully she'll be able to get some sleep."

"How's she doin'?" Chibs asked.

"Better now she's not throwing up every five minutes. Tara's my son's girlfriend, she's pregnant." She added in explanation to Cat.

Gemma grabbed her bag and her jacket and after giving Chibs and Piney a peck on the cheek each she walked out into the cool night. It was only as the chill air hit her that she realised she'd never seen anyone touch Chibs' scars in the way that he'd allowed Cat to.

"I got grandkids a'callin' too." Piney wheezed, heaving himself down from the bar stool, being careful to keep hold of his oxygen tank. "You take care sweetheart." He said to Cat as he squeezed her shoulder on his way past. "See you tomorrow. Same shit, different day." He called to Chibs over his shoulder as he headed outside to his three-wheeler.

"Well lass, go an' grab ye bag an' I'll see if there's any food around." Chibs said standing and stretching.

"You're not actually going to cook are you?" Cat asked with mock horror.

"No' a chance darlin'." Chibs grinned. "I'm goin' tae see if there's somethin' that'll fit in the microwave."

When she came back in she found Chibs on the phone. Once he'd finished his call he smiled at her. "The kitchen was a lost cause lass. Pizza's ordered."

She dropped her bag by the table, picked up some of the empty bottles and took them over to the bar as Chibs got two fresh beers. "So lass, what happened after I left?"

Cat picked up one of the empty bottles and turned it round and round, keeping her eyes down, not looking at him. "Danny never went back to Ireland. Him and mum got married about a year after you left. Other than that, nothing epic. Did my exams. Did alright. Got a job. Left home. Got married. Got divorced. Came to America."

"What're ye no' tellin' me?" He asked, placing an opened bottle in front of her.

She shrugged.

"That did no' work when ye was fifteen, it'll no' work now. Spill."

"It wasn't the same with Danny there. I felt like I'd lost mum. She spent so much time with him. But she was so happy; it didn't seem fair to say 'owt." She took a deep breath. "And I missed you." She exhaled.

A knock at the clubhouse door heralded the arrival of the pizza. Cat shook herself and went to hunt for a hairbrush in her bag so that she could take her knotted hair down from the ponytail it had been in all day. As they ate Chibs told her about his recent unexpected trip to Ireland, finding Kerrianne all grown up and hearing her call him "Da". Cat told him about the life she'd led since he'd left; taking care to include as many of the funnier anecdotes as possible. Chibs wasn't fooled for one moment.


	11. Chapter 11

_**All characters, etc from Sons of Anarchy belong to Kurt Sutter. **_

_**The OC's are mine.**_

_**Any mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out but please be nice**_

_**Warning: This chapter is the reason the story is rated M.**_

**CHAPTER 11:**

"Come on lass." Chibs stood and grabbed Cat's bag. "I'll show ye tae y'room."

She followed him though one door and down a corridor that had many doors leading from it. He used a key fastened to a chain on his belt to open one of the doors and held it for her to walk through first. He followed her in with her bag as she looked around at the room which, considering it was the haven of one of the least sociable and most dangerous members of the club was remarkably clean and neat.

"I doona know if there's aught strange in here, but the lad's picky 'bout things bein' tidy so it should be OK."

"Thank you. Won't he mind?"

"He's inside, got a few months left yet. He'll no' be complainin' an' he'll no' be turnin' up unexpected tomorrow."

"Ahhh." She nodded. "Don't worry, I'll leave it like I found it."

"Why'd ye get divorced?" he asked suddenly.

Cat walked over to the window and pulled the curtain aside so she could look out over the parking lot of the garage. "After Danny moved in I didn't want to be in the house much. I spent a lot more time with my mates. That's how I met Matt. It was alright at first whilst we were going out. I always knew he liked his weed though. Didn't bother me none as long as he didn't try and get me to smoke it, always did knock me sick." She shuddered. "About a year after we got married he lost his job and he changed. It got to be a bit more than just liking his weed. . Then it got to be a bit more than weed. Then it got to be a problem. I should have gotten out before it really went downhill."

"Did he hurt ye?"

"A couple of times. Those boxing lessons really came in useful." She was still staring out of the window.

"How bad did it get?" He was torturing himself asking the question. He felt guilty, he hadn't been there to steer her away from the problem. His leaving had left a void in her life.

She wrapped her arms around herself, holding her elbows and turned to him. "It was pretty shitty at the end. Dealers coming round the flat looking for money, stuff like that."

Knowing she was right handed he caught her left arm to pull it out and check her elbow for scars. As he ran his thumb over the smooth skin at the bend of her arm she shivered, it felt like he was touching so much more of her than just her arm. As soon as she realised what it was that he was actually doing she tried to pull her arm back. "Credit me with some sense please."

He kept a firm hold of her wrist and was still absently stroking her arm. "I missed you too lass. Never read a book since." He kept his eyes down.

"You never called or anything." She said in a small voice.

"Thought it was best tae let ye get back tae yer life." He looked her in the eye. "I shouldnae've been there in the first place."

He tugged her arm and pulled her into a hug. He wasn't sure why, was maybe somehow trying to make up for having to abandon her. For a while she just rested her head against his chest, listening to the beat of his heart in the peaceful silence of the room. She looked up, questions in her eyes. "Chibs…?"

"Hush lass." He whispered before he kissed her. He'd never entertained such thoughts when he'd been staying with her and her mother in England, but she'd only been a child then. There was only one way Chibs knew to comfort the wounded woman in his arms.

After a heartbeat Cat kissed him back. As a girl she'd had a massive crush on him of course, but her pride had made her determined not to turn into a blushing idiot every five minutes. She tasted cigarettes, beer and male. She'd missed strength, missed being with someone who wasn't constantly being eaten alive by their demons. If Chibs had any demons he'd taken them outside and shot them a long time ago.

The kiss became more hectic. Chibs buried one hand in her hair and tangled the strands around his fingers, holding her so that he could explore her more thoroughly. He was pleasantly surprised to find she'd had her tongue pierced at some point; that was interesting.

Cat ran her hands over his back, feeling the roughness of the patches on the smooth leather of the cut he wore. She moved her hands further down until she could slip them under the hem of his t-shirt and move them over the bare skin of his back. She could feel the ridges and grooves of various scars across his skin. She wondered what the hell he'd been up to since they'd parted before resolving that she was going to lick each and every one of them.

He growled low in his throat and broke the kiss, leaving Cat momentarily stunned, until she realised that the only reason he'd pulled away was so that he could shrug out of his cut. As he pulled off his t-shirt, she tore her own off desperate to feel his skin against hers. They fell into another hungry kiss of teeth, lips and tongues. Cat bit Chibs' lower lip gently and tugged before releasing it with a mischievous look in her eyes. She traced both his scars with the tip of her tongue before alternately nipping and kissing her way down his neck, chest and stomach as she dropped to her knees in front of him.

He twisted both hands in her hair as she released him from his jeans and slowly licked up the length of him. With one hand on his hip to steady herself, she held his cock steady with the other so that she could trace delicate patterns with her tongue. "Lass." He choked. She gave him a small knowing smile before running her tongue around the base of the head then sucking him into her mouth. He groaned as he realised just how interesting a tongue stud could be. He could feel the hard metal ball running up and down the sensitive underside as she sucked him in and out of the heat of her mouth.

Before he reached the point where he wouldn't let her stop he pulled her to her feet and guided her to the bed. He fell backwards dragging her down with him and twisting at the same time so she ended up underneath him. He returned the favour, teasing kisses down her neck and over her collar bone. "Off." He growled when he reached her bra, moving himself away from her just enough to allow her to remove it then gently pushed her shoulder to lay her back down. He cupped one breast, teasing the stiff nipple with the palm of his hand and his thumb as he nipped at the other before sucking it hard enough to make her body bow towards him.

"Yer over dressed lass." He whispered in her ear. She unsnapped her jeans and lifted her hips as he smoothed her jeans and panties in one go over her hips and down her legs. "So are you." She returned. He stood briefly to remove his jeans then lay over her again. As he kissed her he wedged his hips between her thighs. She arched her back pressing her body up to his, feeling the burning heat of his cock as it rubbed over her clit. When she moaned he cupped her face, breaking the kiss, so that he could watch her as he trailed his hand down her body. He ran his finger over her centre before sliding one, then two fingers inside her, moving and twisting them in a way that left her squirming and hungry for more.

He rose up on straightened arms and pushed into her. She could feel him thick inside her, throbbing as he held himself steady. He paused for several heartbeats before starting to move in a relentless rhythm. He caught her gaze as he thrust, her body joining his in the writhing dance. "Mine." He growled before they both came undone.


	12. Chapter 12

_**All characters, etc from Sons of Anarchy belong to Kurt Sutter. **_

_**The OC's are mine.**_

_**Any mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out but please be nice**_

**CHAPTER 12:**

Chibs had been awake for a while. Cat was still asleep, cuddled into his side, her head on his chest, his arm around her holding her to him. He knew what he had to say to her, but that didn't make it any easier. He didn't want to say the words. He wanted to stay, just like this, for the longest possible time. But she was his mirror; everything he did was reflected in her. The bombs that had been planted could have taken her family; the drugs they'd helped distribute had taken her marriage. He couldn't afford to break her.

He felt her wake before she stretched against him. As his body stirred he reflected that telling her she had to go might just save his life. He would bury himself in her at every given opportunity if she stayed.

"Mornin' lass." He murmured, stroking her hair away from her face.

"Mmmm, morning." Cat kissed his chest before turning her head to look up at him. "You look serious." She whispered, running her fingertips over the stubble on his cheek.

"Cat…"

"Wait, before you start." She put her finger tip against his lips. "Are you going to tell me you regret last night?" She removed her hand.

"Nay. I donna regret anythin', but ye ken that ye cannae stay. Ye ken we cannae be together."

"I know." She whispered.

"Ye've worked so hard lass to leave all that shite behind, the last thing ye need tae do is tae dive intae more o' the same here. I want more fer ye. More than waitin' fer me tae serve a sentence, more than waitin' fer me tae come back from a run alive.

More than lookin' over yer shoulder tae watch fer ma enemies. God knows lass I doona want ye to leave, I'm a selfish bastard. I want ye here, warm in ma bed, every mornin' 'til the day I die, but I'll no' ask ye tae pay the cost o' that."

"I don't understand everything that you do here, but I understand what you're telling me. Do you want me to leave right now?" She traced the tattoos on his chest, her head down, unwilling to let him see her pain if he said yes.

"No' right now, but today." He stroked a finger along her jaw and tilted her face up to his. "An' know darlin' it only has tae be that way 'cause if I spent another night with ye I'd no' let ye go at all."

"We better make the most of the day then." She smiled as she stretched up to kiss him deeply, sliding her body over his, onto his, as she did so."

-o0o-

When Gemma arrived at the clubhouse that evening she found Chibs sat in the dim chapel staring blankly at the carved table. "She left?"

"Aye, I told her tae go. She's no' meant fer this life." He said without looking up.

"You did right. I wouldn't change my life for anythin', but she's got a chance to stay away from all this." Gemma waved her hand towards the reaper carved into the redwood table.

"I cannae cut her out completely. I have tae know she's alright."

"That's up to you." Gemma shrugged. "Come on baby, let's get drunk."

"That's a bluidy good idea." Chibs heaved himself out of his seat.

Gemma turned to face him at the chapel doors. "Chibs? You did set Happy's room straight?"

"Aye, the lad'll never know."

Gemma wasn't convinced.

-o0o-

It was getting closer to the time when the rest of the guys would get out of jail and life would return to whatever reality it was that they called normal. Chibs had decided to distract himself from worrying about what was going to happen then by helping out the mechanics. Concentrating on finding the faults with the cars, methodically taking apart and re-assembling the engines soothed him. When the message tone beeped from his phone he wiped his hands on the rag he'd placed nearby before fishing his phone out of his pocket. It took him several moments to make sense of the grainy black and white image that appeared on the screen when he opened the message.

He scrolled to find the text with the message. "Your son. x"

Chibs smiled to himself and touched the picture on the screen, tracing the contours of the almost-form.

-o0o-

The party was exploding into hedonistic madness: a celebration of freedom and of beating the reaper at another hand. The drinking had been going on for hours. Sweetbutts and crow-eaters had made their conquests, some openly, some behind closed doors. Chibs watched the revelry through a drunken haze, feeling as he had for a while, like something was missing; a piece of the puzzle that didn't fit any more.

He didn't realise Happy had left the room, until he re-appeared, a pair of pink panties dangling from the end of one finger. "Chibs, what the fuck are these doin' in my bed?!"


	13. Chapter 13

_**All characters, etc from Sons of Anarchy belong to Kurt Sutter. **_

_**The OC's are mine.**_

_**Any mistakes are my own. Feel free to point them out but please be nice**_

_**OK, OK, I know I marked this story as Complete, but I just couldn't help myself. I've no further chapters planned because I have no idea where this is going. I'll update if I figure something out.**_

**CHAPTER 13:**

Chibs had no idea how the big fella had done it. The idea of Happy doing something as mundane as go shopping was bizarre enough anyway; let alone going near a lingerie department. But for a solid month after those panties had turned up in his room, there had been panties everywhere Chibs looked; all different sizes, shapes and colours. If he put his hand in his jacket pocket, he found a pair, they kept turning up draped on the handlebars of his bike, if he left a beer alone for a second, he'd turn round to find a pair wrapped around the neck of the bottle. Every time a new pair turned up the rest of the lads fell about laughing. After a month, it stopped as suddenly as it had started. Chibs reasoned that Happy must have simply gotten bored.

-o0o-

Gemma smelt the coffee before she saw Chibs at the door holding two large cardboard cups. She held her hand out for one of the cups, watching for any sign of expression on his face. Gemma worried about him. Chibs hadn't been the same since Cat had left, although he had gotten better at putting on a show. Gemma was the only other person now that knew the girl had even been here. Piney had literally taken the secret to his grave. Chibs had given Happy some bullshit about a sweetbutt. Gemma was the only one he'd told about the child; the idea that he had a son was too momentous not to share.

It had been almost two years since Cat had turned up at the garage. With everything that had happened to the club: brothers and family lost and Pope's campaign of retribution; Chibs had never doubted that he'd done the right thing in sending her away. But that didn't mean that he didn't miss her. In those moments between sleeping and waking, he imagined that he could feel her body pressed against his, warm and pliant.

Cat had kept in touch. She rang him occasionally. He phoned her, usually when it was the dead of night and he couldn't sleep. She sent him photos and videos of their child. He'd watched the little boy grow up, scampering laughing and playing, through those photos and videos. He hated that it had to be that way, but it was for the best.

Gemma waited whilst the blank look on Chibs' face faded, whilst he stopped staring into space and returned to the present. "How's she doing? How's the little one?" She asked gently.

Chibs' phone rang before he could form an answer. When he pulled it out of his pocket and checked the number he quirked an eyebrow, "Speak o' the devil."

He pressed the button to answer the call and said "Hiya." He was greeted with silence. "Cat? Cat? Are ye there?"

He heard her voice, faintly, as if from a distance. "Mark darling what are you doing in there?"

Chibs smiled as he realised what had happened, that the child had found his mother's phone and had somehow managed to call him. He put the phone on speaker so that Gemma could hear what was happening, knowing it would make her smile. Abel and Thomas had both done the same thing to her a number of times.

"Mark? You're too quiet. Have you got mummy's phone again?"

Cat's voice was louder, closer to the phone. "Mark! How did you get hold of that? You little imp!"

They could hear the loud knock at the door across the connection.

"I hope you've not called anyone." Her voice faded as she moved away from the phone.

"Bri what are you doing here?" Chibs bristled at the shock and fear that were obvious in Cat's tone.

"Can I come in Cat?"

"No. How did you find me?" 'What the fuck?' Thought Chibs, catching the same look of consternation on Gemma's face as they both listened to the scuffling noises.

"Bri, get out!" Chibs looked at Gemma again before they both scowled at the phone.

"Matt owes me Cat. I've come to collect."

"Why've you come to me? It's been over two years. You know I'm not with him anymore."

"Yeah well he can't pay so I've come lookin' for the next best thing."

Chibs' blood ran cold, he could tell from the horrified look on Gemma's face that she was just as worried as he was about what they might be about to hear.

"How much is he into you for?" They heard Cat ask.

"Two grand."

"I don't have that sort of cash Bri. I definitely don't have it lying around in the house. Why should I care about this anyway? It's Matt's problem."

"Nice kid you got there. Is it Matt's? He never said he had a kid."

"Don't you fucking go near him. He's nothing to do with Matt." The quiet fury in Cat's voice was evident.

"Don't speak to me like that you stupid cunt!" Gemma and Chibs heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh, followed by a gasp.

"You pay. You pay for Matt or I'll come back and fuck you and your kid up. You know where to find me sweetheart."

Gemma and Chibs both flinched at the audible fury in the sound of the door slamming even over the long distance connection.

"Shit." They heard Cat curse, followed closely by the sounds of the child starting to sob.

"Oh baby! Don't cry, it's OK. Mummy's OK. Come here darling. It's OK. What did you do to my phone sweetheart? Who did you call? Shit." Cat's voice got progressively louder as she picked up the handset. "Chibs?"

"Aye, I'm here darlin'."

"How much of that did you hear?" She asked quietly, still soothing her son.

"All o' it." He grated.

"Bollocks." He smiled as she spat the curse.

"Are ye alright?" He asked gently.

"Yeah, it was just a slap. The wanker! It won't bruise; it's just a bit sore."

"You're no' safe there."

"So it would seem."

"Can ye get out here?" Chibs wasn't quite sure what had possessed him to ask if she'd travel over five thousand miles to escape a piece of shit drug-dealer.

"Yeah. It'll take me a couple of days to sort work out. But yeah...if you want us there?" He hated the uncertainty in her voice.

"Have ye got anywhere ye an' the bairn can go 'til ye can get a flight?"

"I've got a few friends we can crash with."

"Good. Get out. I doona want ye in that house on yer own with the bairn if that fucker comes back."

"Will do. I better start packing." She paused. "I'll see you soon."

"I'm lookin' forward to it darlin'. Take care o' the two o' ye."

"Will do, love you. Bye" Cat ended the call.

"Fuck." Chibs cursed and scrubbed his hands over his face and through his hair.

"Yeah, you could say that." Chibs jerked. He'd forgotten that Gemma was still there.

"It doesn't seem like she's all that safe over there anymore." Gemma didn't want to exert undue influence, but she was sick of seeing Chibs wander round like a ghost of his previous self.

"Aye. Stupid junkie fucker!" Chibs hit the desk, taking his frustration at Cat's ex-husband out on the veneer.

"Well." Gemma leaned back against the wall, wrapping her hands around the cup of coffee. "It looks like you've got a ready made family on its way to you."

"Aye." Chibs sighed. He couldn't quite wrap his head around the thought; but he wasn't all that upset by the idea. He couldn't ignore the budding excitement at the prospect of getting to hold his little boy in his arms, of seeing the flesh and blood version of the child in the grainy videos.

Gemma grinned at him and shook her head. "I don't know Chibs. A wife and child in Ireland. A... whatever she is, and another kid in England, on their way over here. Maybe you should think about getting the snip?"


End file.
